Scott Olsen returns to the mound today for the first time since late-May, hoping to recapture the form he displayed earlier this season before landing on the disabled list with left shoulder inflammation. The Braves counter with sinkerball specialist Derek Lowe, who actually has struggled against the Nationals. Over the last two seasons, he's 1-4 with an ERA over 5.00 against the Nats.

Everyone's favorite benchwarmer, Michael Morse, gets the start in right field, even against a right-hander. Wil Nieves is behind the plate, giving Ivan Rodriguez the day off.

JayB wrote:" He (Kennedy)and Harris contributed more than anyone to the loss yesterday…." How did AK contribute more than anyone to the loss yesterday? Hudson owned just about everyone in that lineup. If I recall correctly Kennedy had one base hit and might well have had another if the ball he hit up the middle had not hit Hudson. That ball was hit hard and might well have ended up as a base hit to CF setting up Zimmerman quite nicely for a RBI situation. Yes it turned into an out but your exaggerations are really starting to cross the line of credibility.

Again, whatever happened to the plan to have Desmond bat second more often? He's only done it once since Riggleman announced the plan two weeks ago. At the time, Riggleman said he hadn't been batting Desmond second because he didn't have anyone else to bat eighth. But today he's found Nieves to bat eighth, yet Desmond's still not batting second.Did you know that in 1984 the band Talking Heads did a cover album of Jim Riggleman songs? Yeah, it was called Stop Making Sense.

I was sitting with my regular crowd of season ticket holders when Kennedy came up after two straight hits….1st and 3rd with one out…..we all looked at each other and said…..Double Play at the same time……sure enough….check Marks writing….he is the slowest guy on the team out of the box with a run on the line….that DB took for ever to develop and he was out by 5 steps….Harris 3 K's…….like that is a surprise.

Ian D looks like he is using Dunn's bat today……If we just could get a 2B or SS to go along with Ian we would be so much better….Rizzo really blew the Kennedy winter signing decisions….Really poor player evaluation there…Kennedy is so done in baseball.

JayB,Just because you keep repeating the same dribble doesn't mean you know anything about baseball.These are Kennedy's numbers for last year:.289 .348 .410 .758 and this was on 525 at bats; if he played daily his numbers would likely be in the same neighborhood. Ian; who you use as a positive example has these numbers:.252 .291 .379 .670 quit using microscopic examples to make your ridiculous points; if you want to have an intelligent discussion then do some homework.

Kennedy also has 11 SB and has yet to be caught. Its not Kennedy's offense production, which is not to far off his norm that concerns me it is his defense. This also applies to Desmond! Pitching and defense up the middle is not just a saying.

JayB,Tell me exactly how did Rizzo blow the Kennedy signing last winter? Once they were out of the Hudson deal who else was on the FA market for him to chase? And don't give me the same old "cheap Lerners" line, Hudson was/is a better player than Kennedy but he priced himself out of the market by demanding a multiple year contract when the Nats were looking for a one year deal. After Hudson, AK was the best available second basemen on the market for considerably less money.

"If he can get through the top of the sixth unscathed and before the rain hits, that would have to go down as a fantastic performance from the lefty. Couldn't expect much more than six innings and two runs in his first start back from the DL."That was a very Bob Carpeterish thing for you to do, Mark, jinxing poor Olsen like that!

Hey.. C'mon… What do you expect? He's handled 4 or 5 prior to the error.Can't we cut a rookie a break?This is exactly who he has been through out his entire career. Maybe 2B is the answer once we find a real shortstop.

Just heard from a writer friend in Philly who said everyone there is assuming Oswalt will start tomorrow, though that hasn't been made official yet. Roy Oswalt and Miss Iowa on the same night! What an event!

While it's painful to deal with the Phillies and their fans in the short term, everything that's happened with that team in the last year has been great news for the Nats. They are mortgaging their future to win now, picking up 30-something pitchers in exchange for their best prospects and handing Ryan Howard a crippling contract that is going to cost them Werth and Rollins and plenty more in coming years. The Nats were never gonna compete with them this year and maybe not even next year, so it's an absolute thrill to see the division power shoot themselves in the foot for 2012 and beyond, just when the Nat should be rounding into form.Chin up, Nats fans. When those intolerable jackasses invade our park this weekend, just remember that their time at the top is coming to an end.

Re the intolerable jackasses: I got a call a couple of weeks ago from the Nats ticket office, warning me that a group had bought a large block of tickets around my 2 seats for the July 31 game. I said, "AHA!!, Phillies Fans." He wouldn't confirm or deny who they were, but after my experience with the jackasses on Opening Day, I took the hint & upgraded my seats to the Club Level — where (I hope) there's less of a chance I'll be surrounded.I learned 2 things from this little episode:1. The Nats really are trying to keep their season-ticket fan base happy.2. The screaming & moaning from us about the Opening Day debacle made an impression on someone in a position of authority.

I like the Nats. I think they're improving. 2 out of 3 from the Braves. Are the Braves bad? No. Are we as bad as some people here say? No. And Olsen is a great story. Hoping for more of the same over the next few weeks.

@ Anon 1:45PMWilkin Ramirez is one of the Tigers top prospects and played for the world team during the Futures Game All-Star weekend.So what do you think Mark, does Rizzo take a flier on this kid? He is a power hitting OF who needs a bit of plate discpline but has a big upside.